Some leftover notes from UK’s win over Florida

Some leftover notes from Kentucky’s win over No. 11 Florida on Saturday:

* John Calipari’s team was 0-5 this year in games in which it shot less than 40 percent from the floor — until Saturday. Kentucky hit just 39.3 percent of its shots against the Gators but pulled out the win. Calipari said it was similar to the way his teams at UMass won its games.

* Kentucky’s struggling offense has failed to reach the 1.0 mark in points per possession for three consecutive games. The PPP number at Arkansas was 0.885. It was 0.976 at Georgia and 0.961 versus Florida. The last time Kentucky went three straight games under 1.0 was in the 2007-08 season, Billy Gillispie’s first as UK coach. That year, Kentucky posted a 0.917 against Louisville on Jan. 5, a 0.986 versus Vanderbilt on Jan. 12 and a 0.989 at Mississippi State on January 15.

* Free throw shooting could end up biting this team in the end. UK made just 13 of 22 free throws for 59.1 percent. In games in which the Cats took at least 20 free throws, it was the worst showing since UK made just 11 of 23 at the line for 47.8 percent at Louisville back on Dec. 29. Kentucky lost that game 80-77.

* The Cats were terrific Saturday protecting the defensive glass, which had been a continuing and damaging problem. Florida secured just 20.6 percent of its offensive rebounds, the lowest percentage by a Kentucky opponent since South Carolina’s 20.5 percent on Feb. 5. (Being compared to South Carolina this season was not a good thing.) UK has won seven straight games this year in which the opponent failed to grab 30 percent of its offensive rebound opportunities.

* Florida averaged 0.880 points per possession on Saturday in Rupp after averaging 1.176 vs. UK in the Gainesville game.